Over decades, Portuguese-Americans have become crucial to fabric of SouthCoast

Sunday

Jun 10, 2012 at 12:01 AMJun 10, 2012 at 10:00 AM

Known as a hard-working and faithful people, Portuguese-Americans are a critical component of the economy, political structure and cultural makeup of Taunton. While the Portuguese have immigrated to southeastern Massachusetts in waves and have blended into the fabric of the community for more than 130 years, they have always been able to maintain strong ties to the various aspects of Portuguese and Azorean culture.

Marc Larocque

Known as a hard-working and faithful people, Portuguese-Americans are a critical component of the economy, political structure and cultural makeup of Taunton. While the Portuguese have immigrated to southeastern Massachusetts in waves and have blended into the fabric of the community for more than 130 years, they have always been able to maintain strong ties to the various aspects of Portuguese and Azorean culture.

According to the Center for Portuguese Studies at University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, Taunton’s Portuguese-American population makes up about 35 percent of the more than 55,000 people in the city. The Portuguese in Taunton have said that food, religion, family life and events like the upcoming Day of Portugal all play roles in keeping their culture strong here.

The role of festivals, religion

There are several outdoor festivals — secular and religious — in Taunton that celebrate Portuguese culture, taking place throughout the year.

“Universally, between both secular and religious festivals, they are very important,” said Willitts Mendonca, who organizes the Day of Portugal events in Taunton. “I was born here, but my parents immigrated from Portugal. But what I see in those celebrations, be it through church or the various clubs in the area, is they are a way for families such as mine to really come together in our community and keep our traditions going.”

Mendonca said events like the Holy Ghost Festival, which celebrates the Christian belief in the Holy Trinity, allows the Portuguese people in the city to express their values in a way that is similar to the way it is done in Portugal.

“We are showing that’s part of the fabric of being Portuguese, and part of our family values and actually promoting that in our community,” Mendonca said. “Folks made various decisions to immigrate over the last 200 years, but that doesn’t mean they forgot where they came from or forget their traditions.”

Mendonca said it’s interesting to note that the some of the public Portuguese celebrations in Taunton are slightly different from those in Portugal — slightly more American, in the sense that there are more parades and not as many religious processions. But Taunton still does have its share of the more traditional religious Portuguese events, such as the dominga ceremonies — which involve the procession of a crown and prayers seven weeks after Easter — that took place throughout the week at the Taunton Eagles Club.

For many Portuguese who have grown up in the Taunton area, Portuguese festivals are memorable occasions that families look forward to throughout the year.

“I’ve been going to festas, Portuguese feasts like the Holy Ghost Festival, since before I can remember,” said Taunton native Matt DeSilva, 25. “It was always a big deal in my family when they were coming up, almost like a rite of passage for the summer to begin.”

Portuguese cuisine in Taunton

Joe Santos, one of the directors of the Taunton Eagles restaurant and soccer club, said Portuguese food in Taunton typically has variations based on which island of the Azores the cook’s family originated from.

“It varies from island to island,” Santos said. “Each island has a speciality. The mainland is a totally different flavor. But the different types of Portuguese cooking you hear about in Taunton often include the Portuguese steak. You know, tripe is something most people don’t have every day. Octopus is something Portuguese people in Taunton will eat. It’s a lot of fish and seafood, being islanders.”

Santos said that traditionally Portuguese people are often quite in touch with where their foods come from.

“They were brought up with, you harvest your own produce, fruits,” Santos said. “Grow your own animals. So fresh is the way to go.”

Some local Portuguese families grow their own grapes, and there are those who make wine out of it as a hobby.

One constant in local Luso cuisine is kale soup, often left simmering throughout the day in the homes of Portuguese families throughout the city. The soup usually contains chourico sausage, which is just as often served on its own or with bread.

Throughout the years, Portuguese gastronomy has spilled over into other styles of food in the Taunton area. Nearly every pizza restaurant in the city has Portuguese sausages like chourico or linguica as an option for toppings. And for all families in Taunton, Portuguese rolls and other Portuguese baked goods are very common.

Humorous side to Portuguese

According to one local comedian, humor is prevalent among Portuguese families. Steve Lopes, who does stand-up comedy regularly as “the Portuguese Fireman,” said that joking around about being Portuguese is common in the local Luso-American community.

“We love to have fun,” said Lopes, who performed on Saturday night at the Portuguese-American Civic Club in Taunton. “We love to make fun of ourselves. I do that with the comedy. There are some cool things we talk about, whether it be the way our parents act or the ways we talk. There are things that bind Portuguese people together that’s different than non-Portuguese families.”

While poking fun at fellow family members, there is a strong sense of pride that permeates Portuguese families, Lopes said.

“Portuguese people have so much pride in the craft of their work,” said Lopes, of Tiverton. “Among us, there are a lot of artisans, masons and carpenters. People talk about Portuguese folks that do that and always come highly recommended. Today, in this day and age, everything is done quickly. Portuguese people aren’t that way. We see something and we put our heart and soul into it. That rings true in our family and our work ethic. It’s a very unique culture.”

Lopes said that, whether or not those who listen to his comedy act are Portuguese, he always gets laughs from people in the Taunton area because they are so familiar with the Portuguese culture.

“There is probably not a person you can walk up to around here who hasn’t had contact with the Portuguese culture, whether through food, family member or neighbor, friend,” Lopes said.